Space issues

[Anonymous]

Hi there, I'm new on here but it seemed a good place to ask a question or two. I kept chickens and ducks for 5years at my previous home so I'm not new to poultry keeping. They were totally free range. Since then, my circumstances sadly changed and I'm now residing Inman end terraced house with a tiny but perfectly formed garden. I really miss keeping chucks and wondered if anyone could settle my mind on keeping them in a run in a small garden. I've looked into acquiring 3 ex batts from the BHWT and I've looked at the omlet systems plus the wooden combined coop/ runs available but I'm just confusing myself even more till I've come to the conclusion that unless someone gives me some solid advice, I'm going to abandon the whole idea. I've always used wooden coops in the past. I'm concerned that being on a permanent site will become sour and smelly very quickly and I have a neighbour in very close proximity. Any ideas on this will be much appreciated. Also advice on what's classed as minimum healthy run size, run substrate etc. Many thanks

 

[Frenchchickens123]

Hi, welcome to the forum, sorry I may not be of any use as my chooks all free range too, but with regards to the smell and that you can obviously move most coops with the runs attached which in my opinion would keep the smell to a minimum and avoid messing the garden to quickly. With regards to how many birds to keep and what size run depends as I think different people have different opinions but I should imagine you can keep at least three in one of those omlet things I think most of the smaller coops with runs will house 3. Hope this helps a bit and I'm sure someone who keeps chickens with this type of setup will be able to offer some better advice x

 

[Anonymous]

Hi there and welcome. I keep chickens in 2 runs but I have a large garden so let them out most days. I think you could keep 3 chickens in the house/run you mention and maybe you could let them run free in the garden too. In our runs we put down bark though you have to be careful which type you use. Then you can easily scrape it up and change it when it becomes dirty (I put it in the compost heap). Another option which my neighbour does is move the run to another part of the garden though you do end up with a messy garden that way. Having a small garden doesn't prevent you from allowing them to free range as long as you aren't too keen on keeping it pristine.

 

[Sue]

I've purchased a house and run combined from woodenart website. They are quite expensive, but I have seen one and they are very well made and will obviously last a long time. Not the usual flimsy wooden ones you see. I plan to have it on concrete and have hard wood chip in the run that can be changed when necessary so it will not become smelly. They will be able to come out of the run into the garden sometimes on grass for extra exercise. My covered run is going to be 6' x 15' and I will have 6 hens (not bantams).

 

[Lucylou]

Hi Tribbles & welcome!

Regarding size of run, I think the accepted rule of thumb is 1 sq mtr per bird minimum but most people allow much more.

I keep mine in an enclosed run & I know quite a few others on the forum do too, & although it needs a bit more looking after to keep it clean, the birds thrive pretty much OK.

 

[bantiekeeper]

Hi there, I think the secret of keeping the smell to a minimum is to poo pick as often as you can. I put newspaper on the coop floor which is removed daily and burnt on the compost heap. Any poo left on the run floor from the previous night is also removed. This takes about 10 minutes in the morning. When I go to work on the allotment each afternoon I do a quick poo pick again (5 mins). The birds are on a 6" layer of woodchip onto which I scatter Aubiose bedding. This smells nice and clumps any poo together making it easier to pick up.
I am retired and have the time but appreciate that if you are working it is probably not possible to devote this amount of time but it really does help.